Another Stolen Relic
by kingandlionheart
Summary: He was stolen monster turned disgraced god, she was an abandoned demi-goddess turned reluctant gardian.
1. prologue

She thought she had everything in control. Which, in retrospect, is certainly laughable. If she was to learn anything about the last year, it was that she had no control over anything. He took that, but he was a master of taking.

She still sits in her bedroom for time to time, when she find herself alone, and will laugh at everything that was so unbelievable, even to her fanciful mind. She wondered what he would think, what he would say if he saw her now. Would he approve of her actions, or admonish her? She favored the first.

* * *

**an: **okay, so really this story won't have anything to do with the avengers, but it takes place right after the events in the avengers have happened, so i figured i should make it a crossover. anyway, i'm going to try and get the first chapter up tonight, no promises though cause i haven't finished it. oh and i apologize for my crappy prologue, i've never written one before and the words just wouldn't come.


	2. one

He placed the circular room he had shut himself into when they had reached the underground base, hidden under a small mountain peak in central Tennessee. Used as a last resort after S.H.I.E.L.D.'s larger and more heavily stocked bases had been destroyed in the last week. A shimmering stone was placed on the round silver table positioned in the center of the room. An inverted pyramid of pale green light emitted from the center of the stone and he caught himself stealing minute glances at the light, waiting on his father to receive his call.

Finally, after what seemed like a millennia, Odin's face materialized from the light. Thor practically lunged toward the image, seating himself quickly in front of his father's projection.

"Father?" he asked uncertainly.

"It is I, my son. What news of Migard?"

Thor grimaced. "Loki was successfully thwarted, Father."

The Allfather sighed, but his gaze remained firm on Thor. "Is he subdued?"

Thor only nodded in response.

"Then it is time to bring him back to Asgard. The court has been deliberating on his punishment since you gave word of his agenda."

"Have they reached a decision?" Thor murmured.

Odin nodded stoically. "They have. Loki's deception knows no bounds... They have agreed on stripping him of his royal rights. He is to remain in the palace only to be kept under watchful eye. A prison to be built for him was suggested, but your mother was adamant about him being resigned to his original quarters indefinitely."

Thor frowned, but only nodded again.

"That is not all, my son," he hesitated, and then; "Loki's mouth is also to be bound."

"Bound?"

A thick, silver cord and a hooked needle materialized on the table before Thor. The thunder god couldn't help but gasp as he looked down at the small rope, realization of his father's meaning hitting him at once.

"You mean for me to sew shut my own brother's mouth?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Odin nodded and began again, "The court forbids his return until his words are bound inside of him. I am sorry, my son." He gave what Thor interpreted as a look of pity before the rock on the table began to rattle and the pyramid of light disappeared. Thor picked up the cord and needle, giving the tools a look of disgust before he rose and walked to the door. He stopped momentarily, stealing himself for the task ahead, then exited the room, his lips flattened into a grim line.

* * *

He entered the cell quickly, but not quickly enough for the master of mischief. Loki jerked his head up and gave Thor a bitter smile.

"Come to finish me off?"

Thor leveled him with a hard look and then seated himself in a plastic chair facing the cuffed Loki. "I talked with father-"

"Your father," Loki interjected matter-of-factly.

Thor chose to ignore him. "-and he spoke of the council. They have decided on your punishment."

"And, pray tell, what would that be?" Loki queried, his eyes full of cruel mirth.

"I am taking you back to Asgard. I'm taking you home," Thor replied firmly. "But under one condition... a condition I am bound by duty to obey." With this he pulled the needle and cord from his pocket.

Loki eyed the objects. "Needlepoint?"

"Do not play, Loki!" Thor thundered, slamming his fist against the wall. The wall shuddered and plaster sprinkled form the ceiling.

Loki looked at the crack in the ceiling, a small smirk spreading across his lips. "I understand now," he began as he gestured to the needle. "They mean for me to be seen, but not heard." He paused. "And you're to do this to me?"

Thor nodded solemnly.

The sardonic look in Loki's eyes faltered for a breathe before he nodded. "Go on, then."

Thor stared at his brother a moment, then to the punishment that rested in his hands. He grudgingly stood and went to thread the needle, but the silver cord slipped through the needle's eye without help. He stepped toward his brother and grasped his shoulder firmly. If this harmed Loki, he gave nothing away.

"Loki, I-"

"No," Loki stopped him. "Do you think me afraid, _brother_?" he mocked, his unfeeling eyes set squarely on the other man.

Thor plunged the needle through Loki's upper lip, causing him to jump, but he remained silent. Drops of scarlet blood dripped onto the floor in a rough pattern, like a leaky faucet.

Somewhere nearby, metal twisted, a girl screamed, and a man died.

* * *

The hulking man's armor glittered gold as he marched purposefully through the palace. He spoke to no one, keeping his eyes set on the path in front of him. In a matter of moments he arrived at the door to the king's chambers. The couple of guards flanking the door caught sight of him and bowed immediately. He took a breathe to steady himself before his fist tapped the bronze and emerald-inlaid door.

"Enter!" Odin bellowed from inside.

He walked into the room and immediately went to his knee, his right fist moving from his side to cover his heart.

"What business brings you from your post, Heimdall?" Odin questioned. "And please rise, old friend."

Heimdall got to his feet but kept his eyes trained on the floor. "I have failed you, my king."

"What in Valhalla do you mean?" Odin asked, worry etching his wizened eyes.

"As the Gatekeeper of Asgard, it is my duty to keep eye on all nine of the realms, and I believe I do that to the best of my capabilities. I never have made an error... that was until eighteen Midgardian years ago," he finished quietly, finally moving his golden eyes from the floor to the eyes of Odin. "I let something... rather someone distract me. There was a mortal woman of Earth, and she was breathtaking. I traveled to Earth and we- she had a child."

"Heimdall, you mean to tell you laid with a mortal?"

"Yes, my lord," he replied dejectedly.

"And the child, what of it?"

"Her power is strong, my lord. Being mortal, she is not like us... but she has a natural magic to her. And she doesn't know how to control it. I saw her slay another mortal today. I do not believe she is safe being left on earth. It's not her I am worried about, but the others around her. We can teach her how to control it."

Odin nodded solemnly. "You have served me loyally for many ages, Heimdall. I will have Thor retrieve the girl after he returns with his brother."

"My lord?"

"Yes, Heimdall?"

"Your sons have just arrived.

* * *

**an:** ahh, finally finished the first chapter! it was much harder than how the second is going. it's shorter than i originally planned but i was itching to get it out. tell me what you think!


	3. two

The man heaved a heavy sigh as he watched his daughter make her way across the bustling quad. The teenagers surrounding her were the typical high school cliche; laughing and flinging unneeded papers into the air as they left the campus to begin the summer holiday. She, however; contradicted the scene with her own demeanor. She walked quickly, books clung fast to her chest and her eyes on her feet.

"Why do you do that?" he asked her after she slunk into the passenger seat of his sedan.

"Do what?" she replied, eyes glued to the book in her lap.

"Act like no one else exists. Why don't you talk to them?" he inquired, gesturing towards her classmates.

She lifted her head and stared at students vacantly. "Because I don't want to. Besides, they don't like me. They all think I set Sydney Wilson's hair on fire."

His eyes widened. "Margarethe! You didn't... did you?"

Maggie scoffed. "No, not intentionally. You know how things happen when I'm around. See, Dad? I stay away from them for their on safety."

The father let out a clipped chuckle. "Please, Margarethe. You're no more dangerous than her," he said, pointing to an old woman shuffling to her mailbox as the pair drove past.

Maggie smiled wryly. "I don't know whether I should be flattered or insulted. And stop calling me that! I prefer Maggie," she added with a familiar frown that always arose at the mention of her full name. After that comment the two settled into a comfortable silence. Maggie fiddled with the stereo and a moment later Buddy Holly leaked from the car's speakers. Her father gave her a small smile and bobbed his head to the beat.

Maggie looked out the window and let her mind wander as she watched the tree-covered hills and emerald soy bean fields zip past her eyes. The shades of green were never-ending and the hills rolled on forever with only occasional grain silo or decrepit farmhouse blemishing the sea of jade. She smiled to herself as she imagined elegant elves lingering in the shadows of the trees, or pixies buzzing in and out of the rows of beans. Admittedly, the countryside always held an air of undiscovered treasure to her.

By the time they reached the narrow roads of their small Tennessee town, Maggie's mind was wrapped in the web of her next story and her fingers itched to feel the pull of ink on paper. Her father's voice pulled her out of her daydreams sharply, like a yoke around her neck being pulled.

"I have to pick up a few things, you need anything?"

Maggie began to nod but then chose to speak instead, "I do need to pick up a new notebook." Once she let her father get her notebooks for her and after his excitement in getting her something had yielded five My Little Pony wide-ruled spiral bounds, Maggie never let him shop for her again. Though she did act ecstatic over the notebooks so as to not harm his feelings. He had been so proud of himself, after all.

They exited the car and made their way into the small drugstore. "Meet up front in five, alright?" her father said before they parted ways. She nodded and then made a beeline for the school supplies. She grabbed what she need quickly (a black, college-ruled composition book) and elected to scan the drinks while she waited for her father. She had just chosen a Diet Coke out of the large cooler when she heard shuffling behind her.

She turned and smiled in spite of herself. Her father was struggling up the isle behind her, trying to balance two large bags of dog food with other groceries held precariously in between them.

"Dad!" Maggie called to him, feigning exasperation. "Here, let me help." He tried to refuse, but she grabbed a bag anyway.

"Now remind me again who wanted the great dane," her dad mused as he gave her a teasing look.

"Hey! Grover is a wonderful dog," she rebuked.

"Uh-huh, sure," he continued to tease as they set their purchases in front of the cashier.

"How y'all doin'?" she chimed through smacks of pink bubblegum.

Maggie's father, ever the gentleman, replied with a smile and a 'fine, thanks, how are you?' while Maggie's smile instantly fell. She clammed up around any and every stranger, so she took to gazing out of window to avoid conversing. Her attention was caught by a white Oldsmobile heading into the parking lot. The speed of the vehicle confused her; the tires spun as the car peeled onto the gray asphalt of the lot.

Maggie knitted her brows in concern and gently tugged on her father's shirt sleeve. "Dad?"

The Oldsmobile was still barreling closer.

"Dad?"

_Oh, my God._

The dog food scattered and the soda exploded as the car crashed through the storefront. Her father's look of supreme terror was stamped in her mind as he lunged for her, then everything went black.

* * *

Maggie awoken with a start, a pressure on her chest pinning her down. She grimaced and shifted, the weight lifted but it caused a thick liquid to fall into her eyes and blur her vision. She wiped the back of her hand across her face and looked down at her hand, curious as to what fell into her eyes. Her breathe caught in her throat when she realized the substance was blood.

She jerked up quickly, causing her head to jar. Her body felt alive, energy coursed through her veins causing the feeling of tiny shocks all over her skin. With a look around her, she noticed that she was surrounded by rubble. Glass and shards of wood and metal lay in disarray around her. _What happened?_

She looked to her right and noticed a white car turned upside down, crushing a cash register underneath it. Recognition finally clicked in her mind.

_Oh, no._

"Dad? Dad!" she yelled desperately, beginning to fling bits of rubble behind her in an attempt to find him. Her skin was still buzzing with energy and her fingers felt searingly hot.

"Oh, God. Where are you?" she whispered, continuing to scatter rubble. Suddenly Maggie heard a groan from behind her.

"Dad!" she yelled and crawled over to the source of the noise. "Are you there?" she called into the pile as she moved bits of debris away. Finally Maggie saw bottle-blond hair from under the dust. She had unearthed the cashier, but her father was still nowhere to be found.

"Are you okay?" she asked the woman as she helped her into sitting position.

The woman held her hand to a gash on her forehead and she stared off with glazed expression, but nodded. "They didn't even slow down..." she mumbled emptily.

Maggie grasped her shoulders and the woman yelped. "You're burning..." she said in the same empty tone as she looked at Maggie. "What pretty eyes," she sighed.

"Have you seen my father?" Maggie urged.

The woman's eyes went wide and then she lifted her arm and pointed to the isle beside her. "It hit... so much blood."

Maggie groaned and clamored over to where the woman pointed. Her father lay in a bloody heap before her.

"Dad?" she asked shakily. "Dad, are you awake?" she continued as she gently rolled him over.

Bile rose in her throat from what she saw. Her father was nearly unrecognizable, his face was marred by cuts and charred skin and his eyes stared, unseeing, up at her. There were tire marks on his shirt and arms and his chest caved in at an awkward angle.

"Oh, God. No. NO!" she screeched, the energy building within her until she felt like she was on fire. She let go of her father's corpse and rose to her feet, moving towards the car. She looked down at her clenched fists, patterns of dazzling orange flames licked up from her skin. Anger gnawed like rabid dogs in her stomach.

When she reached the car she grasped the door, jerking it off of its hinges and flinging it across the store. How did she do that?

"You did this!" she bellowed to the drunken man in the car. He lolled his head to look at her with wide and addled eyes.

"Wha-"

Maggie took a firm grip of his shirt and jerked him out of the driver's seat. The man howled in pain.

"Le' me go, get off! You're burning me... you're on fire! Your skin is on fire!" he yelled in disbelief as he looked at Maggie's blazing hands. By now her whole body had been engulfed by the flames and her molten amber eyes were filled with rage.

"You killed my father!" she boomed and let the man go momentarily, only to catch him again midair, her hand grasped his throat. The man wheezed as he breathed in fire; it scorched his lungs and windpipe without mercy.

"Wha-what are y-y," the man began, but his last breathe wasn't sufficient enough to finish the sentence. His body went limp and Maggie slammed it into the ground, denting the tile beneath. She let out another anguished cry as fire engulfed the small store. She didn't notice the arrow zipping toward her chest until it pierced her. She yelped in surprise before going unconscious. Maggie fell to the ground and her body ceased to burn.

* * *

**an: **whoa, two updates in one day is definitely a first for me. wasn't gonna stop there but eh, this felt like a good ending for the chapter. have no idea when three will roll around, prolly sometime next week! until then, whatcha think?

and some of you may notice that my oc's name has changed. i'll explain this right quick. i originally picked astrid, cause you know, it has norwegian origins. turns out everyone else thought the same thing. i decided to keep in line with the norwegian theme, but i changed it to margarethe. it's their version of the greek word for pearl. fun fact for you, i guess. okay i'll stop now 'cause i know i'm rambling.


	4. three

He sat sprawled in a chair on his balcony, the view of almighty Asgard looming in front of him. The familiarity of his room that should be comforting instead sickened him and made bile swirl in his stomach. It was a constant reminder of his failure, seeing as he promised himself he would never again set foot in this realm. He had been so close. Too close, really. That was his downfall. He was so close to the power, so close to victory that he slacked, the taste of achievement, ever out of his reach, had hindered his reasoning and made him careless. His words resounded bitterly in his mind.

_To have the Tesseract..._

And now look where his secret weapon- the trick up his sleeve- lay. In his 'father's' arsenal. So close and yet pathetically out of his reach. It spurred him that something that contained so much untapped power sat idle in an old man's trophy room, completely wasted. In his hands it would have reached its true potential. With the Tesseract, Loki could level entire cities, move mountains, keep the pathetic race of humans forever under the toe of his boot.

_To have power..._

And what power he would have had. Millions of people, an entire race, there to marvel at him. To give him the appreciation that he so deeply deserved. He was born a king, he was born to rule. Total power was meant for powerful beings like himself. He still savored the taste of it, how his fingertips were a hair's breadth out of reach of it. It truly sickened him.

He stood jerkily and kicked the chair in anger, sending it into the wall of his lavish prison and causing it to shatter against the golden wall. He took a couple of strides, peering over his balcony. If his presence was irksome to the Asgardians before his fall from grace, it was downright loathsome now. During the endless amount of time he spend on his balcony gazing at the galaxies before him, he would catch the occasional citizen look up at him from his high perch, scowling at him with a disgust unparalleled. When this happened, he would send a gaze just as nasty back at them and they would quickly scurry away. At least they still feared him, this thought alone comforted him in his solitude.

"I was your king!" he longed to bellow at them, yet when he tried to speak, forgetting his bonds, he would only be met with a pain that surged from the still-tender punctures. How he longed to smite them all. He had lingering dreams of bringing a chaos onto the magical land, the thought of spilling the blood of its inhabitants filled him with an intense pleasure that made him giddy. He longed for them all to suffer by his hand, but none more than his father. He longed to bring the omnipotent Allfather to his knees, to make him beg for mercy, mercy that Loki would never allow.

The shame and the hate of it all once again filled him, making him feel it would burst forth from his body, spending him into tiny pieces hurtling through space. He turned from the balcony's railing and trudged back into his room. He had planned to dive into yet another set of ancient scrolls when a presence apart from his own caught his attention. He looked up to see a soldier standing in the threshold of his quarters.

_A visitor, for me?_ he thought, eying the lackey dubiously.

The man kept his eyes averted from Loki as he walked towards him. He grabbed his arm roughly and tugged him out of the room. Loki followed without argue, curious as to what was so important as to draw Asgard's shame from the shadows.

The guard led him down the winding and immaculate hallways of the palace until they reached the throne room of the castle. Loki balked at the door in spite of himself; he had not laid eyes on his 'father' since his return. What could the Allfather possibly want of him now?

The grand doors fell open and the soldier jerked him into the room roughly. His grip stayed firm on Loki's shoulder until they reached the front of the alter. Odin sat on the golden throne in all his dignified glory. The soldier immediately fell to his knee and placed his fist over his heart. Loki stayed firmly erect.

"Your son, my lord, as you asked."

Loki looked up at the king, catching his eye with a withering look. _Miss me, father?_

Odin bestowed a look of pity onto him that made Loki want to howl with rage. The cord winding through his lips grew taunt as he gritted his teeth.

"I have not seen you since your return," Odin began, "I trust you are doing well?"

It was a question that could easily be answered with a shake of his head, but Loki refused to give the old man the satisfaction. Odin carried on speaking unfettered.

"My son, I am still lost as to why you have committed these terrible actions against unwitting Midgard. I also feel that my punishment is just, however..." he paused, his brows knitting in frustration.

Loki's mind was spinning at his father's words. Did he mean to free him? Surely not. Yet Loki couldn't help but hypothesize as to the many possibilities that lay beyond that 'however'.

"However," the god began again. "Asgard, as of late, has not seemed to have a moment of peace. Today we learned of a... girl. A girl of extraordinary gifts. And it has been decided that she is to be brought to Asgard so as to further educate her here. We alone can begin to instruct her as to how to control her capabilities."

Loki's brow furrowed in confusion. _What has this to do with me?_

Odin's reply was curt, but seemed to be answering the exact question on Loki's mind. Loki wondering slightly if Odin had mastered the art of mind-reading, yet waved the thought off. Odin never focused on improving his mind, only his battle techniques.

"I want you to tutor her, my son."

The term of endearment only gave Loki a stomach full of knots. It seemed to mock him now, knowing that he was indeed not this man's son but more so his political tactic. Knowing that his whole life was a lie. This was not to say, however; that the other fraction of the sentence did not peak Loki's interest.

He motioned to his bound lips and merely shrugged.

Odin nodded and, with only a moment's hesitation, simply snapped his fingers. The cord disappeared in a silvery mist. Loki instantly gasped for air, savoring the feel of a deep breath's worth of oxygen seeping into his lungs.

Loki smirked at his adoptive father. "With all due respect, I do not believe I understand," he spoke coolly.

"She has in her a sort of magic that is rare. Inherent magic that she has yet to control, or even fully realize. I want you help her in her path to master this magic dwelling inside of her. But be warned, Loki. This task set before you possesses another purpose. Your progress with the girl will be monitored, if somehow you fail this task or conceive another intention besides instruction, you binding will be inflicted again for a time I know not how long."

Odin's speech rang in Loki's ears. So this was another test to prove his worth. This caused a familiar rage to course through his body like poison, but Loki was intrigued by Odin's words. What power did this girl possess for his father to resort to such drastic measures?

"It would be but an honor to serve Asgard," he replied finally with a curt bow.

* * *

A simple black truck hit a snag in the rocky road that encircled the shallow mountain, the jerk caused consciousness to come rushing back mercilessly to Maggie. Thankfully, coherency followed soon after. She sat up quickly despite her heavy head and leveled her eyes on a man clad in a tight black and sleeveless shirt. "Why did you shoot me?" she yelled, the surprise of the sudden outburst became quickly apparent on her own face.

"I had no other choice," he grunted as he fiddled with the most intricate bow Maggie had ever seen.

"What about my father?" Maggie demanded, her voice rising again.

At this the man gave her an empathetic look. "Look, kid. I don't know who or what you are, but what you did back at that drugstore is gonna make your life real different."

Maggie's eyes widened as her brain replayed her most recent actions. She gaped down at her slightly reddened hands. "How did I do that?" she breathed.

At that a man, also clad in black with a patch covering his left eye, entered the makeshift medical room constructed in the truck, partitioned off from the rest of the truck's bed by thin hospital veils.

"We were hoping you could tell us that, miss."

Maggie blankly looked up at the now two men before her. "My father is dead," she started quietly, "and I just killed a man and leveled my local drugstore with a fire that emanated from my body. Do you really think I have the slightest clue as to what is going on?"

Maggie's boldness surprised her, usually she tensed up and immediately fell silent around any stranger. Yet here she was now, feeling a pride well in her- as selfish as it was, considering her father was dead. She chalked it up to the mysterious energy that was still coursing through her veins.

The man with the bow looked to his partner. "So she doesn't know either?"

"Know what! Who are you people?" Maggie yelled in frustrating, slamming her fists against the cot she occupied.

The man with the eye-patch yet again turned his attention to her. "My name is Nick Fury and you're in the custody of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"S.H.I.E.L.D?" Maggie asked dubiously.

Fury nodded. "Yes. We are a government organization dedicated to the protection of the earth."

Maggie looked at Fury as if he had horned budding from his head. "So you think that I am... a danger to the earth?" she asked, disbelief dripping from her tone.

"Let me paint a picture for you," Fury began. "We just had to deal with the destruction of a major city, as you well may know. Now just today we get a visit from a long distance friend telling us he has come to collect one of his own, and then a teenage girl nearly blows up a whole block right in our backyard. Forgive us if we are a little on edge."

"Okay, somehow I set a building on fire. What does this have to do with anything you just told me?"

"I have about as much of an idea as you do," Nick Fury replied bluntly. "But maybe our said friend may have some answers."

* * *

Maggie was, much to her chagrin, escorted into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s base in handcuffs. Her mind was still reeling from the events of the day as Nick Fury and the other man, who's codename she learned was Hawkeye, led her into a sizable white room, scarcely decorated with a metal conference table in the center. They deposited her in a chair, still handcuffed, and left her alone in the room. She faintly recognized that, had it not been for the fact that she had been constantly on the move and was currently in the custody of a secret government agency, she would be a miserable mess. It still had not completely dawned on her that her father was dead, leaving her completely alone. All she could muster was a vacant stare at the wall, though her body was still buzzing.

Soon enough Nick Fury and Hawkeye re-entered the room, this time in the company of yet another man. The man was a looming height and possessed the air of a bear with his shaggy blond hair and scruff and large muscles. His demeanor was surprisingly quiet.

"Maggie," Nick Fury started, bringing Maggie slightly back to reality. "This is Thor, and he may have the answers we're all looking for."

Maggie raised an eyebrow. "Thor... as in the god of thunder?"

Fury couldn't help but let a small smile slip from the lips. "Exactly."

The blond man gave Maggie a small bow. "I am indeed Thor Odinson."

This was finally too much for Maggie, and she let herself slip into a laughter that was uncomfortably drawn out. The pair of men stared at her as peels of hysteric giggles left her mouth.

"So now I get to meet a god?" she finally wheezed.

"I'm afraid this is not joking matter, Margarethe. I am to take to back to Asgard."

Maggie instantly fell serious at the mention of her full name. "How do you know my name?"

"You father told me," Thor replied simply.

She looked from the one man to another, a thick anger brewing in the pit of her stomach. "My father is dead," she seethed.

Thor shook his head. "No, I am speaking of your real father."

"My- my what?" Maggie whispered.

* * *

**an:** so we are creeping closer to the meeting of maggie and loki. i don't know about you, but i'm excited. oh and yeah, this story has more views than any other of my stories, and yet for over a hundred hits in only has one review. come people, feedback is not so much appreciated as adored!


	5. four

"Do you seriously believe any of this junk?" Maggie asked Hawkeye, her resident guard, as she sat sprawled on the metal bench that occupied her holding cell. He leveled her with a serious look before finally responding.

"With this job I've learned that one should either believe in everything, or nothing at all. There's too much gray area to do anything else."

Maggie let out a sigh. "But I'm not a trained... whatever you are. I'm just normal- well, up until today I thought I was normal, now I'm not so sure," she mumbled as busied herself with plaiting a small braid into her auburn hair. She had spent hours in the cell with this man while Nick Fury and Thor busied themselves with her departure. Fury informed her before he shut the heavy metal door of her containment that he would personally, along with a handful of agents, go to her house and collect her belongings. After explaining what toiletries and clothes she needed, Maggie insisted on them also packing up all of her notebooks along with Gus, her canine counterpart.

"Please," she had begged, "_please _bring me these things. I'll go mad without them." Nick Fury scrunched his nose at the thought of dealing with a dog, but had consented nonetheless.

Now, four hours later, there Maggie continued to sit. She idly thought that Fury was holding her so long as a sort of torture; her insides were buzzing. It took Maggie not very long at all to realize finally that this energy, or whatever it was, inside of her was now here for the long haul. She'd never admit it to anyone she currently found herself with, but this power was not as foreign to her as she originally let on. She never told anyone, not even her (not)father, that she had had felt this feeling before. The same sensation that now set her fingertips a tingle had visited her in times previous, times in which she felt threatened, or scared, or angry.

Strange things had always seemed to happen while Maggie was around. One day at lunch, Maggie remembers vividly that it was a Wednesday, she took a nasty tumble on a grease-soaked napkin and, as naturally high schoolers do, the rest of the room burst into laughter. The smarmy snickers inflamed Maggie's cheeks as an energized anger roared through her. A second later, a light fixture plopped atop some browned salad greens, bursting into flames and Maggie took that as her cue to flee the scene, stuffing her glowing fingertips into her jacket pockets as she ran.

One day she set Sydney Wilson's hair on fire after she accused Maggie of having a crush on her boyfriend. Maggie was nowhere near the girl when her blond curls spontaneously combusted. No one noticed as they attempted to douse Sydney's hair that Maggie's eyes, locked on the girl, glowed like eery embers.

After countless incidences akin to this one, the foreign feeling that invaded Maggie always faded away, but not this time. Maggie was certain, after the strength of the energy she emitted at the drug store, her powers had now grown strong enough to maintain a constant buzz in within her. She held a new alertness that freshened her senses, yet also pestered her with annoying jitters.

"God, how long does it take to pick up clothes and a dog?" Maggie finally belted after another steady silence between Hawkeye and herself. She threw her arm over her eyes and huffed in frustration.

"Relax, we're back." A foreign voice, Fury's, invaded the room.

Maggie let out a gasp of surprise and shot up. "I didn't even hear the door open."

"That's because you were too busy tapping your foot on the wall. Loudly," Hawkeye pronounced flatly.

Maggie gave him a sheepish look then turned her attention to Fury. She bit her lip. "So is it... time for me to go?" she asked nervously.

Maggie could have sworn that the look in Nick Fury's eyes was that of pity as he looked at her and spoke, "Yes, Maggie. It's time to go. Thor is waiting for you with the dog and your things in Hanger A. Hawkeye will escort you."

Maggie gulped as she followed Hawkeye out of her cell and fell in step beside him. "Should I be scared?" she asked him quietly.

Hawkeye thought briefly of the only things he knew about Asgard; Thor and Loki. He thought of Thor's bravery and honor juxtaposed by Loki's madness as he considered the fact that Maggie was a scared eighteen year old girl. Hawkeye's answer took longer than expected.

"Just be brave," he replied finally as he squeezed Maggie's shoulder. They had reached the hanger's doors by then, Maggie gave Hawkeye a small smile.

* * *

Loki was caught off guard by the excessive bustle in the palace. Asgard's golden fortress always held a degree of busyness, it was a castle, after all, and castles demanded a certain amount of caretakers for a certain amount of upkeep. Today was different, though. When his food was brought, late today, he caught a glance into the hallway and was struck by the multitude of servants hurrying this way and that like worker bees.

"What's this all for?" he asked the doe-eyed servant girl who today won the unlucky raffle, it was her turn to take the fallen prince his meals.

If possible, her eyes grew even wider after he addressed her, surprised that he spoke to her. She had a right to feel this way, however, Loki rarely wasted words on the help.

"We're preparing a feast for the daughter of Heimdall," she replied to him slowly after debating whether she should answer him at all.

His eyebrows raised in curiosity. So his future pupil commanded this much ado? He nodded at the girl and then flicked his wrist, dismissing her so he could be left with his thoughts.

* * *

"Knowing my mother, a feast is sure to welcome our return," Thor commented to me with a small smile. My eyes immediately went as wide as saucers.

"A feast? Isn't that a little excessive?" I asked. Thor and I had been placed in an circle filled with intricate designs draw in chalk on the cement floor of the hanger. He explained to me briefly that getting us to Asgard would take a lot of effort, and a combination of Earth's science and Asgard's magic would be used to transport us. Thor and I faced each other; we each clutched a glowing cube with steel handles bolted to the sides. The cube began to hum and Thor looked at me unexpectedly.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

I gulped and nodded, patting Grover softly as he shivered beside me. Suddenly the room seemed to start spinning. An immense pressure pushed down on my chest and shoulders and made my ears pop. I could faintly hear Grover's howls, they seemed miles away even though I could feel his fur under my fingers. The hanger quickly faded into a deep black that stretched endlessly before us. I could barely see Thor out of the corner of my eye, he was nothing more than a blur, like his whole body was vibrating at a high speed. There was a sharp tug at my gut that felt like someone was pulling a rope attached to the walls of my stomach. I gasped as dashing auroras of color faded into gold before my eyes and my eyesight rocked now instead of spiraling.

It took me a moment to gather my wits, but after I did and looked up, my breathe was taken by the scene before me. The palace sprawled before us and with it's golden tubes it looked like a giant pipe organ. The village surrounding it was only slightly lesser in lavishness, the houses where various shades of golds, silvers, and bronzes that accented the gleam of the palace. Amber colored stairs and streets wove this way and that in snake-like patterns up and down the hills of the village. I turned to look behind me and was faced by a dazzling cerulean lagoon that stretched hundreds of meters before it simply leveled off at a waterfall that seemed to pour into the stars themselves. A rocky beach of jade stones connected the village with the sea.

We were in Asgard.

* * *

I turned to Thor with wide eyes. "This place makes Earth look like a flea market," I finally breathed out.

He chuckled loudly and gave me another small smile. "Asgard is exuberant, this is true. But your planet holds a beauty all its own," he replied. He placed his hand lightly on my back and began to lead me towards the looming doors of the palace. When we reached them I balked in spite of myself.

"I can't do this," I whispered to him, still refusing to budge.

Thor sighed and took my shoulders, turning me so I was facing him. I looked into his kind blue eyes, a wordless plea resounding in my gaze for him to understand.

"I was once in your place, you know." I frowned at him in disbelief as he continued on, unfettered by the look on my face. "I was exiled for my home not too long ago, my arrogance gave my father no choice. At first I was angry with him, I was completely stranded in a strange world and I was at a lose as to what to do next. Luckily, I found help. The kindest of humans, a scientist named Jane Foster, took me in and believed in me when I didn't. She helped me survive, and that's what I plan to do for you. If you ever feel overwhelmed or alone, you can always come to me," his finished his speech with finality and squeezed my shoulders. "I promise."

I gulped, but nodded all the same. I squared my shoulders and turned back to the doors. "Then what are we waiting for?"

* * *

**an: **okay, loki and maggie _will_ meet next chapter, i promise. again, not as long as i would like but this felt like a good stopping point for this chapter. sorry it took so long to update, i'll try to get more active. as always, please review! tell me what you like, don't like, pointers, advice - anything!


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